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Summer Objects (June-August)
Welcome to the Summer Deep Sky Viewing Guide – now doubled in size to 26 objects!
Included with this package are 26 deep sky objects that are best seen in summer evenings in the northern hemisphere. There’s a selection of galaxies, nebulae, and clusters for you to discover.
With the extra thirteen DSOs I’ve picked, there are now two objects per week for the season.
However, I know that life and nature don’t always run that smoothly. If you only have the time, or the weather, to get outside once or twice per month, that’s fine. You can try and see several in one evening, the data table below will help you plan which ones are best to see at which time.
Included in the table are the right ascension and declination coordinates based on the 2000.0 epoch. If you have setting circles or a go-to telescope, these can be used for precise location targeting. Select the PDF version beneath the table to download and print.
Summer Deep Sky Viewing Guide
When to see all 26 objects
Rise, highest point and set on the 15th of each month. Pick your month, then look for objects that are highest in the evening.
| Object | June 15 | July 15 | August 15 | Mag. | Type | Constellation | RA | Dec. | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rise | Highest | Set | Rise | Highest | Set | Rise | Highest | Set | |||||||
| Epsilon BoötisDouble Stars in Boötes | 14:46 | 22:27 | 6:11 | 12:48 | 20:29 | 4:13 | 10:46 | 18:27 | 2:11 | 2.5 | Double Stars | Boötes | 14h 44m 59s | +27° 04′ 27″ | Data for Izar (Epsilon Boötis) |
| M7 / NGC 6475Ptolemy's Cluster | 21:49 | 1:39 | 5:25 | 19:51 | 23:37 | 3:27 | 17:49 | 21:35 | 1:25 | 3.3 | Open Cluster | Scorpius | 17h 53m 51s | -34° 47′ 00″ | |
| M6 / NGC 6405Butterfly Cluster | 21:22 | 1:25 | 5:25 | 19:24 | 23:24 | 3:27 | 17:22 | 21:22 | 1:26 | 4.2 | Open Cluster | Scorpius | 17h 40m 20s | -32° 15′ 00″ | |
| M25 / IC 4725 | 21:16 | 2:17 | 7:14 | 19:18 | 0:19 | 5:16 | 17:16 | 22:13 | 3:14 | 4.6 | Open Cluster | Sagittarius | 18h 31m 47s | -19° 07′ 00″ | |
| M22 / NGC 6656Great Sagittarius Cluster | 21:39 | 2:21 | 7:00 | 19:41 | 0:23 | 5:02 | 17:39 | 22:18 | 3:00 | 5.1 | Globular Cluster | Sagittarius | 18h 36m 24s | -23° 54′ 17″ | |
| M23 / NGC 6494 | 20:41 | 1:42 | 6:40 | 18:43 | 23:40 | 4:42 | 16:41 | 21:38 | 2:40 | 5.5 | Open Cluster | Sagittarius | 17h 57m 04s | -18° 59′ 00″ | |
| M4 / NGC 6121 | 19:38 | 0:09 | 4:36 | 17:40 | 22:07 | 2:38 | 15:38 | 20:05 | 0:36 | 5.6 | Globular Cluster | Scorpius | 16h 23m 35s | -26° 31′ 33″ | |
| M13 / NGC 6205Great Hercules Cluster | 15:52 | 0:27 | 8:58 | 13:54 | 22:25 | 7:00 | 11:52 | 20:23 | 4:58 | 5.8 | Globular Cluster | Hercules | 16h 41m 41s | +36° 27′ 36″ | |
| M17 / NGC 6618Omega/Swan Nebula | 20:54 | 2:06 | 7:14 | 18:56 | 0:08 | 5:16 | 16:54 | 22:02 | 3:14 | 6.0 | Bright Nebula | Sagittarius | 18h 20m 48s | -16° 11′ 00″ | |
| M3 / NGC 5272Jellyfish Cluster | 13:37 | 21:24 | 5:15 | 11:39 | 19:26 | 3:17 | 9:38 | 17:24 | 1:15 | 6.2 | Globular Cluster | Canes Venatici | 13h 42m 11s | +28° 22′ 38″ | |
| M55 / NGC 6809 | 23:14 | 3:25 | 7:31 | 21:16 | 1:27 | 5:33 | 19:15 | 23:21 | 3:31 | 6.3 | Globular Cluster | Sagittarius | 19h 39m 59s | -30° 57′ 53″ | |
| M62 / NGC 6266 | 20:32 | 0:46 | 4:57 | 18:34 | 22:45 | 2:59 | 16:32 | 20:43 | 0:57 | 6.4 | Globular Cluster | Ophiuchus | 17h 01m 13s | -30° 06′ 49″ | |
| M92 / NGC 6341 | 15:35 | 1:02 | 10:25 | 13:37 | 23:00 | 8:27 | 11:35 | 20:59 | 6:26 | 6.4 | Globular Cluster | Hercules | 17h 17m 07s | +43° 08′ 09″ | |
| M10 | 18:50 | 0:42 | 6:31 | 16:52 | 22:41 | 4:33 | 14:50 | 20:39 | 2:31 | 6.6 | Globular Cluster | Ophiuchus | 16h 57m 09s | -04° 06′ 07″ | |
| M81 & M82 / NGC 3031 & 3034Bode's Nebula | never sets | 17:38 | never sets | never sets | 15:40 | never sets | never sets | 13:38 | never sets | 6.8 | Spiral Galaxy | Ursa Major | 09h 55m 33s | +69° 03′ 55″ | Data given for M81 |
| M19 | 20:16 | 0:48 | 5:16 | 18:18 | 22:46 | 3:18 | 16:16 | 20:44 | 1:16 | 6.8 | Globular Cluster | Ophiuchus | 17h 02m 38s | -26° 16′ 05″ | |
| NGC 7023Iris Nebula | never sets | 4:46 | never sets | never sets | 2:48 | never sets | never sets | 0:47 | never sets | 7.2 | Bright Nebula | Cepheus | 21h 01m 48s | +68° 12′ 00″ | |
| M80 / NGC 6093 | 19:16 | 0:02 | 4:44 | 17:19 | 22:01 | 2:46 | 15:17 | 19:59 | 0:45 | 7.3 | Globular Cluster | Scorpius | 16h 17m 03s | -22° 58′ 34″ | |
| M9 / NGC 6333 | 20:01 | 1:04 | 6:04 | 18:03 | 23:02 | 4:06 | 16:01 | 21:01 | 2:04 | 7.7 | Globular Cluster | Ophiuchus | 17h 19m 11s | -18° 30′ 57″ | |
| M101 / NGC 5457Pinwheel Galaxy | never sets | 21:45 | never sets | never sets | 19:47 | never sets | never sets | 17:45 | never sets | 7.8 | Spiral Galaxy | Ursa Major | 14h 03m 13s | +54° 20′ 56″ | Best viewed late evening |
| M51 / NGC 5194Whirlpool Galaxy | 10:59 | 21:12 | 7:29 | 9:01 | 19:14 | 5:31 | 6:59 | 17:12 | 3:29 | 7.9 | Galaxy | Canes Venatici | 13h 29m 53s | +47° 11′ 43″ | |
| M56 / NGC 6779 | 19:02 | 3:01 | 10:57 | 17:04 | 1:04 | 8:59 | 15:02 | 22:58 | 6:57 | 8.3 | Globular Cluster | Lyra | 19h 16m 36s | +30° 11′ 01″ | |
| M63 / NGC 5055Sunflower Galaxy | 11:45 | 20:58 | 6:14 | 9:47 | 19:00 | 4:16 | 7:45 | 16:58 | 2:15 | 8.5 | Galaxy | Canes Venatici | 13h 15m 49s | +42° 01′ 45″ | |
| M75 / NGC 6864 | 23:00 | 3:50 | 8:36 | 21:02 | 1:52 | 6:38 | 19:00 | 23:46 | 4:36 | 8.5 | Globular Cluster | Sagittarius | 20h 05m 05s | -21° 55′ 16″ | |
| NGC 4449 | 10:37 | 20:10 | 5:47 | 8:39 | 18:12 | 3:49 | 6:37 | 16:10 | 1:47 | 9.2 | Irregular Galaxy | Canes Venatici | 12h 28m 11s | +44° 05′ 37″ | |
| M102 / NGC 5866Spindle Galaxy | never sets | 22:48 | never sets | never sets | 20:50 | never sets | never sets | 18:48 | never sets | 9.8 | Galaxies | Draco | 15h 06m 30s | +55° 45′ 48″ | Data given for M102 |
Click here to download the Summer Observation Guides table as a PDF
For more precise planning, use software such as Stellarium (which is free) or SkySafari, which is paid. Each link opens a new tab so you won't lose this page.